NEWS: Asteroid to Pass Closer than the Moon in 2029

GEEK: Asteroid to Pass Closer than the Moon in 2029

The Astronomy community, including NASA, has been frantically calculating trajectories for Asteroid 2004 MN4 since a couple days before Christmas. As they observed its orbit they found it was within probability it could strike the earth in 2029. The data got more and more scary for a few days as they gathered more.

Dec. 23 . . . .1 in 233 . . . hmm...
Dec. 24 . . . . 1 in 62 . . . . .uh oh...
Dec. 25 . . . . 1 in 40 . . . . . .eeek!
Dec. 27 . . . . 1 in 37 . . . . . . .make it stop!
Dec. 28 . . . . 1 in 26,000 . . . . .WOOHOO!

So on Dec. 27 they calculated in 2029 we would have a better chance of getting hit by a 400 meter radius Asteroid than winning a scratch off lottery ticket. On Dec 28 they found valid data from archieved photos dating back to March 2004 that helped correct our previous calculations.

So we can rest easy now that our rocket scientists are confident it will not strike the earth. They are also confident it will pass within a closer distance than the moon! Talk about a close call!!

http://suicidegirls.com/boards/Current+Events/60295/

I wonder if it would have any gravitational effect... probably too small.

so should we keep expecting shitty things to happen every dec 25-27 from now on? i mean earthquakes in iran, tsunamis in asia... what's next years' natural disaster?

for a minute i thought we might have to call billy bob thornton, ben affleck,liv tyler and the guy with the cool nose to build a super spaceship and go land on this damn meteor and blow it up..

and the whole worrld would rejoice at the zero hour when they saved us

all wars would end and we would acheive global piece

and maybe just maybe i could get these fucking telemarketers to stop calling my house for 20 minutes so i can download bad porn on a dial up modem and not get kicked off just before i see the money shot!

-keith in hell

1. Newswire is separate from boards, even though threads from the newswire appear on the boards
2. This is better-written and has more info than the thread
3. This contains info that was released today
4. Asteroids are fucking cool

Amen to that... in the frozen expanse of space I'd say they're quite frigid j/k Asteroids rock. (no pun intended)

5. People like to find out what other people have written about something.
And most importantly:
6. Astronomers are sexy. unf!

def a good thread

thanks mike, i hadn't seen that when i submitted. i hope added some other details...

this was my first story posted ever!!! thanks for the positive feedback Shalome and everyone else

[Edited on Dec 28, 2004 6:17PM]

Depending on the tides and the position of the moon it could raise or lower the tides by a millimeter or so... very negligible.

Well, I guess Bush will now have a secondary benefit to add to the marketing info of his missle defense/weaponization of space plan.

He'll declare a "war on asteroids'.

let's all remember that you heard it here...

*dunna-duh-dunna-duh-dunna-duh*

...first!

also, look into trademarking.

pbbt the Mayans know it's gonna hit in December 2012...

I know. Isn't that weird??? I marked my calender for that date a long time ago...

Damn beat me to the punch. The Mayan calender runs out in 2012.

*damn Charlie Gordon spelling*

[Edited on Dec 28, 2004 by Muzencab]

if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go rent Maximum Overdrive and pray that something that wicked cool actually happens... so long as AC/DC survives to write the soundtrack.

Yeah, but the Mayans themselves ran out long before 2012, so what's the point?

More scientific evidence that god hates gays.

As everyone would have a world class piece of.....

Here is the link to the Minor Planet center Information on close approaches of NEAs through the year 2178.

PHA Close Approaches To the Earth

2004 MN4s 2029 Approach is Listed first.

the minimum distance in AU equals a little over 39,500 miles

[Edited on Dec 28, 2004 by nitpick]

[Edited on Dec 28, 2004 by nitpick]

being closer than the moon don't mean much... the moon is actually pretty far away, it's just shown as being close in most pictures because everything would wind up being really small on a piece of paper if you put it all at proper scale.

Well we do have the Maximum Overdrive option, but lets not forget The Night of the Comet. I know it's not a Comet, but it could happen.

i kind of want it to collide with earth, bringing the apocalypse, just so i can say "i was there."

I just thought he was being greedy, looking for his own piece of the world.

It's not that far. The moon subtends an angle of .5 degrees, which isn't as much of a sliver as it sounds. It's obvious when a picture is hanging a half degree out of whack. You could drive to the moon in a year and change, if there were, you know, a road and gas stations and stuff and you had time off from work.